I’m out of town on vacation until Jan. 16, but that doesn’t mean this site has to go silent. Please use this thread to discuss any news of the day or other topics you wish to bring up with each other.

Also, you may have noticed a change to the commenting format. Google’s Blogger platform (which I use to maintain this site) instituted an unannounced change yesterday to all of its blogs worldwide, allowing for “threaded” comments (in which you can directly respond to one comment instead of just posting something new at the very end of each post). Google claims it had been receiving overwhelming requests to make this change, though personally I prefer the old format (and I get the sense most of you do, too).

I’m still trying to figure out if it’s possible to disable the threading function and revert the comments to the old format, but that may not happen until I return from vacation next week. I’m also trying to figure out why timestamps on comments are suddenly three hours off; as best as I can tell, all blog functions are still set to Eastern Standard Time.

Meet the new thread! Same as the old thread!Not that it matters, but I think that the Blue Jays are a slight favorite to sign Fielder. They have a lot of payroll space, can DH Fielder if needed, and play in a hitter's ballpark. With the Yankees and Red Sox aging, the Red Sox in some turmoil, the Yankees stated desire to get under the luxury tax threshold by 2014, and the Rays' payroll limitations, all these combine to give the Blue Jays an opportunity to go for it it with Bautista (under a very affordable contract through 2015, with a 2016 team option), Fielder and a young pitching staff over the next 3-4 years. My rough guess: 45% Toronto, 25% Nationals, 25% Rangers, 5% somewhere else. I'll be glad when Fielder does land, though, so we can all return to our regularly scheduled lives

Boras quoted as saying that Fielder will sign 'by spring training'. Sheesh, I am getting Prince fatigue. I want the guy, but now I just want to stop reading and talking about him.I'll say this for the new method – it doesn't get that 2d page for 200+ comments (sorry if that has already been discussed, I didn't scroll thru all the comments). Not a big fan of that second page.Sec 3 – any chance that you posted as a reply, instead of a new comment?

Wally, the problem with the Fielder signing getting delayed is a team like the Nats have a veteran like LaRoche who would need to be traded.The rumors of LaRoche traded to Tampa along with cash to offset part of his 2012 contract in trade for BJ Upton is what makes the Prince Fielder signing all the more over-the-top and should be the added "WAR" to get the Nats in that 90 win plateau. I also believe Prince helps the WAR of Ryan Zimmmerman as well as Morse.After reading Nats Enquirer this morning it seems logical that this is frustrating Mr. Lerner and Ladson's post seems to all but say it won't happen. Kilgore then writes it is on track still. Sounds to be like the wheels came off and Boras went on damage control late last night. Boras needs the impression/illusion that the Nats are still in as that has to be the "offer" he is trying to get bidders to go above. The best news would be the Rangers signing Darvish and telling Boras to stick it then Rizzo can hold firm on a 5 year deal. A win-win.

Boras in an inteview with Barry Bloom:"Certainly we're going to have him signed well in advance of Spring Training. I can't give you the exact date. These things take some time. That's why we have January and early February. Spring Training doesn't start until late February. We're just moving through the process. It's just one that takes some time. You've got to meet with owners. You've got to sit down and talk with them about their needs. He needs to know where they're headed. He's going to be there a long time, wherever he's going. So we need to get that information to him and evaluate it."

Thoughts on the new format of the comments – Threading – There are some blogs, I think, that allow readers to toggle the threading of comments on and off. I wonder if that could be a compromise bwn those who like and those who don't like it.Formatting – threading aside, what looks weird to me about the new regime is that comments appear single spaced, which leaves them looking crowded and harder to read.As for an actual baseball comment – I don't think the Nats are going to get Fielder, and I wouldn't want to get him at the price that Boras will almost certainly exact. (Although the fact that Boras didn't do so well for Madson gives me a little hope that he's not all powerful and 100% successful in the current market.) But I do wish someone else would sign him, so we can stop talking about it.

If folks ignore the "Reply" marker, the blog will work pretty much as before. I for one will not go back to the beginning each time I visit. So, pearls of wisdom posted via the Reply feature may not be seen by me (not that it will bother anyone).(The correct time shows up in Preview.)

Anon @ 9:34AM, Maybe the Nats shouldn't allow Capitals fans in the stadium. Those idiots not only yell "O" but also "Red" during the anthem. Probably the most disrespectful display of any fans in any sport. Its One of the main reasons I don't go to Caps games besides the insane cost. All to choreographed and fake feeling, but hey, that's just me, they pack in 18,000+ most nights.

DFL – I assume lots of teams are interesting in signing PF 'on the relative cheap'; if his price comes down (defined as both years-in-contract and price-per-year), the market will have to reset and the list of who's in/who's out will change accordingly and significantly.

I remember up until 2 years ago that you could hear a few idiots yell O. Good point on Caps games. I'm a Caps fan with a little more respect and have emailed Leonsis (another one with LOSE in his name) to address the disrespectful mature during the National Anthem which he didn't respond to. I guess Leonsis has bigger problems these days.

I was going to suggest ignoring the Reply feature, but you beat me to it, Slidell. Good work.One other question: Is it just me, or do others find it annoying that when you click the comments link at the bottom of an article, it sends you to the comments box at the bottom of the thread? Then you have to scroll back up to read the comments. I usually don't want to post a comment before reading what others have written. This just started maybe a month ago. Has anyone else noticed that?

The Dude AbidesJan 12, 2012 04:41 AMWell now at least the Anons that don't use a handle can see how little they are of influence on this site.Really, I respectfully must demur sir! But then there are already enough here who have "faux handles". Cute names they make up that really don't have profiles attached, or email addresses? Well kind of like YOU!! Dude. And no you don't abide, you anonymii as much as you might protest!

Speaking of burly first basemen and Nats offensive bench threats. Looks like Crasnick AND Bowden are pushing hard for a Da Meat Hook rides again … Sure seems like a guy the Nats ought to consider taking a chance on Dmitri Young again given how much they've invested in him after his first comeback. I suspect this 38 year old coming off the bench would be far better than a guy named Matt "Stares" Stairs.

Sure seems like a guy the Nats ought to consider taking a chance on Dmitri Young again given how much they've invested in him after his first comeback.====================================Please re-read the chapter on 'sunk costs' and report back to the class on why such a previous investment should not be factored into our future considerations.

"The Brewers invited Fielder back on a one-year contract that would have set him up for a mega-deal with the Dodgers next winter, once the team has a new owner in place, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times tweets. However, Boras showed no interest in the Brewers' proposal."

I'd be insulted were I Prince and I got that one-year offer from the Brewers, to "set him up for a mega-deal with the Dodgers next winter." Did they really think he's that much of a chump? No wonder the two sides parted ways early on in the process.

next winter." Did they really think he's that much of a chump? No wonder the two sides parted ways early on in the process.Prince Fielder has been extremely fortunate up to this point. He pretty much played in almost every single game: no injuries. If he gets injured his value could go significantly down. It may be that taking a 1 year offer from the Dodgers, as opposed to the Brewers might suit him if all over avenues seem unattractive. But I suspect Ted Lerner will reel him in just the little animated flick over on Nats Enquirer shows … pretty hilarious.

There's actual real news today:In about two and a half hours, Yoenis Cespedes will apparently play for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican league semifinals tonight against Gigantes.Pitching for Gigantes will be Aquilino Lopez, a 36 year old righty who last pitched in the The Dominican league semifinals is an interesting round-robin of the top four teams in the league. Aquilas will play six games in the next six days — essentially a showcase.

Prince has been lucky in terms of avoiding injury. Which is why if I'm him, there's no way I take a 1-year deal from anyone, regardless of how much or who makes the offer. It is far better for him to sign a 5 year deal for $18-20M per year than a one-year deal for even $25M. Obviously he'd prefer 10 years at $25M. But under no circumstances would a one-year deal make sense for him.One year contracts are for players that have to prove to the league that they can contribute so they can have a big payday in a year. Like Wang and Oswalt. Prince doesn't have to prove anything to anyone.

IN OTHER NL EAST IMPACT FA related NEWS:Last night on a radio interview, Marlins president David Sampson told Evan Ross that the Marlins would be going all in on Yoennis Cespedes. I did not hear the interview personally. However, from people who did hear it, I have heard that Sampson was drooling over Cespedes. He said something along the lines of “we have a position ready for him,” in that interview. Looks like the Marlins are strong favorites to land the Cuban defector.And Nats Enquirer's "sources" report that Mike Rizzo feels exactly the same way about Cespedes. Be interesting to see if that changes after Cespedes plays this weekend.

Reported? Or speculated? I ask because I've seen scant evidence over the past few years that Loverro follows anything besides the Redskins very closely. Once upon a time he did and he was good at it but lately he is as versatile as Steve Czaban.

I'm an old time Senators fan. I always disliked the Orioles and never took them to heart. Before Camden Yards the Baltimore fans were cordial to the DC area fans, but after the new stadium was built the average blue collar Balmer baseball fan really didn't like the metro DC fan for coming to "their" stadium. Though Memorial Stadium was a hellhole, it had a great, very knowledgeable crowd. Camden Yards, at least in the beginning, was a place to be seen where there just happened to be a baseball game being played. Many of them reminded me of Mr. Veeck's quote saying,"the better the seats, the less they know about baseball." Afterwards, Baltimore did everything possible to block DC from getting MLB back. In spite of all that, I welcome all of the Orioles fans to Nats Park.

I'm an old time Senators fan. I always disliked the Orioles and never took them to heart. Before Camden Yards the Baltimore fans were cordial to the DC area fans, but after the new stadium was built the average blue collar Balmer baseball fan really didn't like the metro DC fan for coming to "their" stadium. Though Memorial Stadium was a hellhole, it had a great, very knowledgeable crowd. Camden Yards, at least in the beginning, was a place to be seen where there just happened to be a baseball game being played. Many of them reminded me of Mr. Veeck's quote saying,"the better the seats, the less they know about baseball." Afterwards, Baltimore did everything possible to block DC from getting MLB back. In spite of all that, I welcome all of the Orioles fans to Nats Park.

I dislike the Orioles too, but they were one of just two "nay" votes among the A.L. owners that tried to stop Bob Short from moving to Texas in 1971. I know that it was a different time and a different regime, but I'll never forget that.

I know that a manager's eyesight doesn't matter all that much, but DJ says that his eye problem affected his managing. Why didn't he just take a few days off and get the surgery during the season? Cataract surgery is no big deal. He could have been back in under a week. What, is he like a young pitcher who covers up an injury because he doesn't want to lose his spot in the rotation?

With the new blog format, I can no longer even READ Nats Insider from the network at my school. We have an older version of Internet Explorer that will not even load up comment threads. Previously it had become impossible to comment, but I could at least read the threads and then comment from my iPhone if necessary. Now nothing at all.I too am beginning to get Fielder fatigue. I am very ready for something to happen–for Ankiel to get signed, for more bench help to come to the team (W. Harris?)of for pitchers and catchers to report. Anything.So I'll be checking in with NI once or twice a day from my home computer, I guess. Bah!